Next, in UniFi Network
Click Adopt. If it sits on Adopting, run set-inform once more, per Ubiquiti.
UniFi Lab 10
Device shell: set-inform
A factory new AP on the Staging VLAN never shows up in UniFi Network. Point it at the Network host from a laptop.
Your job: SSH into the AP, run set-inform with the right URL, open only TCP 8080 to 192.168.1.10, and get the AP to Pending Adoption.
Run: Break A, Port 8080 blocked · factory default yes · TCP 8080 to host blocked · Staging to Internal block
Lab complete. The AP is Pending Adoption. Staging to Internal stays blocked except TCP 8080 to the host.
Inform set, device PendingLaptop terminal
Tech laptop · Staging VLAN 50Laptop on Staging. New AP at 192.168.50.23. Tap a command or type one.
Tap to insert, then Run
Device output in this terminal is a lab mock. Ubiquiti does not document the info status text.
UniFi Network
CloudKey · LAN (Default) · 192.168.1.10UniFi Devices
0 devicesNo devices waitingThe AP has not been told where the Network host is.
Adoption path AP to host
| Check | Now |
|---|---|
| SSH login | Not connectedNeed: ui / ui |
| Factory default | YesNeed: Yes |
| Inform URL | Not setNeed: http://192.168.1.10:8080/inform |
| TCP 8080 to host | BlockedNeed: Open (host only) |
| Staging to Internal | BlockNeed: Block |
| UniFi Devices | EmptyNeed: Pending Adoption |
Controls
Firewall · Zone-Based
Allow TCP 8080 to 192.168.1.10
Staging to Internal · TCP 8080 · 192.168.1.10 only
Narrow exception. The port the AP informs on.
Allow Staging to Internal (all)
Staging to Internal · any port · any host
Wrong move. Opens the whole LAN to Staging.
Staging to Internal
Zone policy · everything else
Staging to Internal: Block, TCP 8080 to 192.168.1.10 blocked
New AP
- AP
- 192.168.50.23 · Staging 50
- Factory default
- Yes · LED solid white
Only matters if the AP was adopted before.
Other ways to inform · info only
Out of scope for this lab
STUN troubleshooting Community SSH reset Backup restore walkthrough Console root SSH SSH keys Firmware upgrade Linux shell File edits and logs Protect adoption · Lab 05
Why this fails
No devices waiting
The AP has no inform URL yet. SSH in as ui / ui and run set-inform http://192.168.1.10:8080/inform.
Field note
Most UniFi devices adopt on their own. set-inform is for a device on another VLAN or site, or a Network host it cannot find. After you click Adopt, some devices need set-inform once more.
Console words
- Inform timeoutinfo shows the AP knocking with no answer (mock).Clear
- Traffic blocked by firewallStaging to Internal drops TCP 8080.Clear
- Permission deniedui / ui refused. The AP keeps the old site login.Clear
- Managed by OtherAnother UniFi Network instance owns the AP.Clear
- Staging wide openAllow all rule on. Win blocked.Clear
- Pending AdoptionThe AP checked in and waits for Adopt.Clear
Glossary
Core, Labs 01 to 03- Native VLAN
- Untagged VLAN on a switch port (PVID). Management traffic usually rides here on UniFi device uplinks.
- Tagged VLAN Management
- VLAN IDs carried with an 802.1Q tag on a trunk. Options are Allow All, Block All, or Custom. Guest and IoT SSIDs need their VLANs tagged on the AP uplink.
- Access port
- One VLAN only, untagged. Fine for a printer. Wrong for an AP that serves multiple SSIDs.
- Trunk
- Native VLAN plus tagged VLANs. Correct pattern for UniFi switch to AP / switch to gateway when multiple networks exist.
- ZBF
- Zone-Based Firewall. Policies between zones (Gateway, External, Internal, Guest, etc.), not just classic LAN IN rules.
- Gateway zone
- Where the router answers DHCP and DNS for a network. Block Guest to Gateway and clients get No IP or DNS unreachable.
- Client isolation
- WiFi setting that stops guest clients from talking to each other. Keep on for Guest.
- PoE class
- AF (~15 W), AT (~30 W), BT / PoE++ (higher). UniFi budgets on documented max draw, not quiet daytime watts.
- PoE budget
- Sum of max PD draws vs what the switch or injector can supply. Exceed it and devices disconnect.
- Injector
- Power source for a Flex or similar. Wrong class (AF on a loaded Flex) is a classic field fail.
- Max draw
- Datasheet maximum watts for a PD (IR on, boot). UniFi PoE budget math uses this, not the quiet live reading.
- Flex budget
- USW-Flex downstream totals by input: AF 8W, AT 20W, BT or 60W injector 46W (set Power Source to PoE Injector).
- Remote Unlock via Endpoint
- Access setting. When off, Endpoint receivers can talk on a call but cannot unlock.
- Door Attendant / receiver
- User assigned to get the door call. Not on the list means no Unlock for that door.
- Inform
- Device check-in URL to the Network application, usually controller host on port 8080, path /inform.
- STUN
- UDP 3478 helper for remote adoption and remote management. Not the adoption path itself: adoption needs TCP 8080 to the Network host.
- set-inform
- Device SSH command that tells a UniFi device where its Network host is, e.g. http://192.168.1.10:8080/inform.
- Pending Adoption
- Devices list state for a device that has checked in and is waiting for you to click Adopt.
- Managed by Other
- Devices list state. Another instance of UniFi Network owns the device, including the same console after a factory restore. Fix: restore a backup, factory reset and re-adopt, or reassign in the mobile app.
- Device SSH Settings
- Network setting holding the SSH login an adopted device uses. Factory default devices use ui / ui.
- Debug Console
- Built-in browser shell on the console. Info chip only.
- DHCP Option 43
- DHCP option that hands devices the Network host address so they adopt across VLANs. Info chip only.
Fiber terms, glossary ready for later
OM3 / OM4OS2SFPSFP+DACAOCBiDi
MM and SM grades, cage form factors, DAC, AOC, and complementary BiDi ends. Full rows land with the fiber-sfp-dac lab.
Symptom words (overlay language)
No IPNo gatewayDNS unreachableConnected, no internetConnected, isolated from LANTraffic blocked by firewall
Before and after
Diff rows marked| Setting | Broken (A) | Wrong poke | Now |
|---|
Gear in this lab
- 1 Network host (CloudKey)
- 1 Gateway (Zone-Based Firewall)
- 1 New AP (factory default)
- 1 Tech laptop
Config only. The fix needs no new hardware. Counts only, no prices.
Takeaway
Inform set, device PendingThe command was right. The path has to be open too.
set-inform tells the AP where to knock. The AP knocks on TCP 8080. Open 8080 to the Network host, not the whole LAN, and the AP shows up as Pending Adoption.
- SSH in as ui / ui on a factory default AP. Managed by Other? Hold Reset 5 to 10 seconds until the LED is solid white.
- Run set-inform http://192.168.1.10:8080/inform. Plain http, port 8080, ends in /inform.
- Allow TCP 8080 from Staging to 192.168.1.10. Keep Staging to Internal blocked.
- Watch UniFi Devices for the Pending Adoption row.
Rolling out UniFi across several VLANs or a remote site? We plan that as part of a UniFi install.
Related labs
All labs /labs
A teaching lab, not a quote and not a design for your site. Settings are simplified from the UniFi Network app. Device shell output is a lab mock, not real device output. No account, and nothing from this lab is saved.